New Delhi: Due to weak revenue collection due to Fiscal Deficit lockdown of the Central Government, the budget estimate for the entire year has been exceeded in the first four months (April-July) of the financial year itself. According to the data released by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CGA), the fiscal deficit in the current financial year from April to July reached 103.1 per cent, or Rs 8,21,349 crore, as compared to its annual estimate. A year ago, it was 77.8 percent of the annual budget estimate during these four months.
7.96 lakh crore rupees was estimated in the budget
The government’s fiscal deficit is the difference between its total spending and revenue. It surpassed the annual target in October last year. In the Budget 2020-21 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the fiscal deficit has been estimated to be Rs 7.96 lakh crore i.e. 3.5 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
These figures had to be revised in view of the situation arising out of the outbreak of the corona virus epidemic. The lockdown implemented due to the Korana virus caused considerable disruption in economic activity. The central government implemented a lockdown across the country from 25 March 2020 to curb the spread of Kovid-19. After this, slowly the lockdown began to ease from May.
What was the figure for the last financial year?
In the last financial year 2019-20, the fiscal deficit reached a seven-year high of 4.6 percent against the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Revenue receipts remained weak during the year, which weakened further by March. According to the data of the Comptroller and Auditor General, during the first four months of the current financial year, the government’s revenue receipts stood at Rs 2,27,402 crore. This amount is 11.3 percent of the annual target of the budget of the year. In the same period last year, the total revenue receipts were 19.5 percent of the budget estimate.
Budget estimate increased
Tax revenue during April to July stood at Rs 2,02,788 crore i.e. 12.4 percent of the budget estimate as compared to 20.5 percent of the budget estimate in the same period a year ago. The total receipts of the government during the period under review stood at Rs 2,32,860 crore, which was 10.4 percent of the budget estimate. The government has estimated a total of Rs 22.45 lakh crore in the budget during the financial year 2020-21.
At the same time till July, the total expenditure of the government reached Rs 10,54,209 crore, i.e. 34.7 percent of the expenditure incurred during the entire financial year in the budget. However, in the same period last year, the total expenditure was 34 percent of the budget estimate for the entire year.
